Televisions typically use infra-red (“IR”) receivers for receiving commands from hand held remote control devices. A remote control is a component of an electronics device—most commonly a television set used for operating the television set wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance. Remote controls issue commands from a distance to televisions and other devices. The remote control contains all the function controls for a television while the television itself will have only a limited handful of essential primary controls. The main technology used in home remote controls is infrared (IR) light. The signal between a remote control handset and the device it controls consists of pulses of infrared light which are invisible to the human eye.
The transmitter in the remote control handset sends out a stream of pulses of infrared light when the user presses a button on the handset. A transmitter is often a light emitting diode (LED) built into the pointing end of the remote control handset. The infrared light pulses form a pattern unique to that button. The receiver in the television recognizes the pattern and causes the television to respond accordingly.
Television remote control receivers are typically mounted behind a light filter that passes infrared light and blocks white or visible light. The actual IR receiver element is typically a phototransistor which receives filtered IR light emitted by the remote control.
Television styles and exterior designs have constantly been evolving over the years. With the event of large flat screen televisions, the available area on the front surface of a television has been diminishing. IR receiver assemblies previously were mounted directly behind the front bezel panel of televisions. As the bezels have become substantially thinner, IR Receiver assemblies have been moved off of the bezel and into the interior of the assemblies with light being carried from the front of the televisions to the IR receivers through light pipes or light guides. The assemblies have become expensive and the size of the light guides have, to some extent, dictated the minimum thickness of the front bezel.